Vishnu Sahasra Naamam-Vol III-RR-edit.pub - Ibiblio

itipuNyah - pavitrah pApAnaviddhah Subho vA - He who purifies, or One by
whom things are purified is puNyah; or, One who is pure, devoid of any sin,
auspicious, etc. He gives the example of bhagavAn in the form of the Sun
purifying all objects in the universe, in addition to being pure Himself.
In addition to the above derivation and interpretation, both SrI satyadevo
vAsishTha and SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj also give the alternative
derivation of the nAma starting from the root puN - Subha karmaNi - to be
pious.
SrI bhAradvAj gives the derivation as "puNati Subhamkarma Acarati iti
puNyah" - One Who observes pious activities is puNyah. By the grammatical
rule "tatra sAdhuh" (ashTAdyAyI 4. 4. 98), with the addition the yat pratyaya
to puNa, the term puNyah means "One who is excellent in observing the pious
activities", and not just in the sense of being good. BhagavAn sets the
example to His devotees on performing pious acts by performing them Himself.
He leads by example.
Thus, bhagavAn is puNyah (the Purifier) because:
1. He purifies even the worst of sinners by making them think of Him;
2. He purifies this worldby eliminating the wicked from our midst during His
incarnations;
3. His thought is a purifier for those who meditate on Him;
4. He purifies everything in the form of the Sun;
He guides us to be righteous through the Sruti and smRti.
Alternatively, He is puNyah (One who excels in observing pious activities)
because He excels in the practice of pious activities so that He sets an
example for others to follow.
nAma 693. pu{ykIitR> puNya puNya-kIrtih
puNya kIrtih
He Whose kIrti or praise is also purifying (in addition toHim being the
Purifier).
puNya-kIrtaye namah.
139
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